pile.org

2017 E5 walk, day 41: Le Gué Safray to Domfront

Section 10, Day 41
Le Gué Safray
0°45′48.3″W
48°37′29.2″N
Domfront
0°37′42.8″W
48°35′30.0″N
low 48 °F
0.71″ rain
high 60 °F
54,054 steps
20.7 miles

I trekked back across the muddy field to the trail, and shortly after came to the Fosse Arthour, “Arthur’s Pit”, a lake that is one of King Arthur’s several resting places.

To the north, a wide, shallow stream runs from the middle right of the photo to the bottom left, with large rocks strewn across it. The far side is forested; in the immediate foreground is a mossy tree, with a tumble of large rocks behind it.
This isn’t the lake itself, just a stream flowing from it.

There were showers on and off throughout the day. The trail headed east along the same ridge that I followed the previous day, before turning north.

To the south, the landscape is dark treetops, with occasional green clearings in the center and right of the photo. The trees in the distance are hazy; the sky above is an almost uniform grey.
It was another dreary day, here looking south from the ridge.

On the way to the town of Lonlay-l’Abbaye, I encountered two marvels: First was what a building decorated with towers and cren­el­la­tions, with a prominent sign declaring it the “Chateau de la Biere”. (I didn’t stop, for no good reason.) And second, on the out­skirts of town, a robot mower was making its way across somebody’s lawn.

I stopped for lunch at the town bou­lan­ge­rie, across the plaza from the abbey. I arrived right at noon, so was treated to the sound of the abbey’s bells ringing out.

A muddy trail runs to the east, between a hillside on the left and a field on the right, but it is covered in several inches of water, such that it is barely distinguishable from a small stream. The water appears to be flowing down off the hillside, filling the trail bed, and flowing off to the right at the bottom of the photo. Trees on the hillside lean over the watery trail.
Soon after leaving Lonlay, the trail passed by two streams, but unfortunately became one of the streams (recall that there had been rain for much of the last 24 hours).

The trail climbed and descended many small hills and valleys; while it wasn’t the most rugged of the trip, it was my last day with so much climbing.

Eventually, the trail reached the eastern out­skirts of the town of Domfront. I left the trail and headed back west in to town, where I stayed at the municipal campsite. For some reason, there was a chaperoned trip of dozens of high school-age students, but fortunately there was still space for my tiny tent. I got some groceries, then headed up into Domfront’s old town, built on top of a hill, for dinner (döner kebab on the steep road up) and sightseeing.

To the south-southeast rises a striking church, with an Art Deco look to its architecture. It appears to be roughly square, with a hexagonal or octagonal steeple, and a façade of small stones. The entry seems to be at the right of the photo, with narrow towers flanking doors and a large stained-glass window. A tree stands to the left, near one side of the church (which has a window matching the front.) The sky is overcast.
Domfront’s church is strikingly modern, at least compared to most of the churches I’d been seeing.

The town was cute, though not quite as self-consciously as Saint-Malo.

Two ruined stone walls rise, one above the other, from the bottom of the photo up to roughly the viewer’s level. Battlements and perhaps the remnants of towers can be made out. Past the top wall is a rolling green lawn, topped by the remains of what looks like was once a mighty tower or keep. At the base of the lower wall is a road sign indicating pedestrian crossing ahead, suggesting there is a road below, though it’s not visible.
The Château de Domfront was separated from the rest of the old town by a little ravine. The ruins were closed for the day when I arrived.

Back at the campsite, the kids quieted down reasonably well, and I didn’t have trouble falling asleep.

Map of the day’s route.